After two years of work and more than $10 million invested, the Braddock Bay restoration project has been declared complete.
It was a partnership of the federal EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers, plus the state and the Town of Greece. It dredged the bay, which had grown so shallow from being silted in that boats could no longer get to Lake Ontario. That dredged material was used to rebuild a barrier beach at the bay mouth, protecting the bay from waves that had silted it in, and also protecting the marinas around the bay from wave damage during storms.
The Town of Greece for its part rehabbed the Westpoint Marina on the bay, which has gone from just 26 slips occupied to more than 250. Town officials say the private marinas on the bay have seen similar 1000 percent growth since the bay was reopened.
On the larger level, the project restored the bay’s ecosystem and restored habitat for more than 30 kinds of birds, plus fish and other animals. It’s reduced erosion of wetlands around the bay and reduced environmental degredation.